Protecting species and their habitats in the areas where we operate is an important priority for our company.

We have processes in place to assess and avoid sensitive species and their habitats, as well as areas of cultural or historical significance, and we have long maintained our commitment to refrain from operating in protected areas.

We also participate in collaborative efforts to preserve and promote biodiversity in our areas of operation. In the Permian Basin, for example, we are actively working with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Pecos Water Conservation Initiative on conservation projects supporting habitat restoration on land and species preservation in the Pecos River Watershed.

At the end of their service lives, wells that are no longer productive are plugged in accordance with applicable regulations. We strive to return well pads to a natural condition, except where landowners prefer the well pads to be left in place. To drive continuous improvement in restoration efforts, we set a goal in 2023 to accelerate land reclamation at more than 150 well sites that were designated to be plugged across our U.S. onshore operations by year-end 2025. This goal is linked to long-term incentive compensation for executives and employees.

In December 2023, we announced a research partnership with the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, and Texas Native Seeds, a project of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M Kingsville, to launch a multiyear investigation into methods to improve habitat restoration efforts in the Permian Basin. One goal of this project is publishing a science-backed, best practices reclamation document to be shared with other Permian operators. The project will help inform oil and gas operators in the Permian about how changes in the industry’s collective approach to restoring end-of-service well pads can have broader benefits to local biodiversity and reunite fragmented habitats.